Urban Node

Rotterdam

Country: Netherlands Population: 600 thousand

Dubbed “Gateway to the World”, Rotterdam’s logistic success is based on its strategic location by the North Sea and the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. The rivers, but also the extensive distribution system of rail and roads give access into the heart of Western Europe, including the highly industrialised Ruhr. The urban node Rotterdam has been choosen for the first step of Vital Nodes. We will add information continuously as the project evolves.

On Thursday 29 March 2018 the second workshop in a series of Vital Nodes workshops has taken place in Rotterdam. The characteristic location of the former Rotterdamse Droogdok Maatschappij in Rotterdam-Heijplaat is the set for this workshop. Twenty professionals in spatial development, mobility and transport and logistics came together to explore opportunities improving the synergy between challenges and initiatives in the urban node Rotterdam and the TEN-T corridors.

With a wide variety of stakeholders with different backgrounds challenges for the urban node Rotterdam regarding freight and logistics in interaction with infrastructure and spatial planning were addressed on the Northern end of the Rhine Alpine TEN-T core network corridor. Besides good practices have been collected and impact criteria discussed.

Key challenges of the urban node Rotterdam that are discussed during the workshop are amongst others:

  • The balance between the cities labour market, logistics and the port;
  • The separation of functions vs. function mix and the influence on spatial planning and transport flows;
  • Collaboration in the chain and on the corridor;
  • Regional logistic development;

Take aways from the workshop are amongst others:

  • Study executed on the emissions of different transport flows in order to effectively approach emissions;
  • The possibilities of transport over water;
  • Look at the coherence between passenger flows and freight flows: the big size of passenger flows creates challenges for freight flows. Splitting off the freight flows is not the solution, but steering and regulating passenger flows might be. In this case capacity for freight flows will be created;
  • Possibilities to develop rest areas and facilities to function the buffer around the city;
  • The wish to see hubs as part of the whole corridor and create coherent packages of measures with other partners on the corridor.

The Vital Nodes consortium would like to thank all participants for their valuable contributions and enthusiasm.

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